The Diversity Leadership Conference is a half-day conference designed for UW students to develop their leadership skills through a series of workshops and sessions with leaders from the UW and community at large. The conference is co-hosted by the Husky Leadership Initiative, the Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center, and Housing and Food Services and is open to all undergraduate students.

Diversity Leadership Conference: Understanding Self in the Context of Community

Keynote Speaker: Alexes Harris

Alexes Harris is Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington and is the University of Washington Presidential Term Professor. She earned her MA (1999) and PhD (2002) in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research and teaching focuses on social stratification processes and racial ethnic disparities, particularly how contact with institutions like educational and criminal justice systems impact individuals’ life chances. Her recent research has investigated the sentencing practice of monetary sanctions, the fines, fees, surcharges, restitution and related payment costs imposed on people who make contact with systems of justice in the United States.

Dr. Harris’ book, A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as a Punishment for the Poor, (Russell Sage, 2016) has received widespread media attention from outlets like The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Atlantic, Mother Jones, Aljazeera, King5 News and The Seattle Times. Dr. Harris’ work has been published in a number of academic journals, including The American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Law and Society Review and Symbolic Interaction. With a grant from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, Dr. Harris is leading an eight state study on monetary sanctions to replicate and expand her research in Washington State to examine sentencing practices.

In 2015, Dr. Harris was appointed by United States Attorney General to a four-year appointment on the Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board. She has also been appointed to the DOJ sponsored National Taskforce on Fines and Fees, she was recently inducted into the Washington State Academy of Sciences (2017) and is the chair of the Washington State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She has presented her research on monetary sanctions, racial, ethnic and class inequality in the criminal justice system, and U.S. race relations to audiences ranging from judges, policy makers, public defenders, academics and students (of all ages), and the U.S Department of Justice and the White House.

Starbucks is dedicated to the development of student leaders and is a proud supporter of the Diversity Leadership Conference.